Today

Today

Snow day
Sleeping in
Pancakes
Nap
Great conversation
Amazing news
Happy tears
Smiles
Gifts
Appreciation
Realization
More smiles
Content

Today was awesome!

Writing is hard-Slice 3/31

Oh #Slice2013, you are already kicking my butt and we are only three days in.  Writing has never come easy for me.  I tend to write exactly the way I talk which makes my style extremely causal.  I can never get my thoughts to come across in a way that my reader understands exactly what I'm thinking.  I took on this challenge because it is exactly that...a challenge.  Writing publicly everyday pushes me, my writing and my thinking to the point of exhaustion.

This gets me thinking about my students and their writing.  How many of them sit staring blankly in front of the page thinking "What in the world am I going to talk about today?" or "I don't know how to write exactly what I'm thinking.".  This challenge helps me reflect on what it is to be a writer and strengthens me as a teacher of writing.  I want my students to know that I struggle with writing too and that it's okay to talk about your struggles and successes.

So here goes...day 3 of Slice and I'm already struggling...

Life-Slice 2/31

Life can take many twists and turns

It can be messy and overwhelming

Life can be unexpected and challenging

But it can also be good…

Life can be sweet and charming

It can be full of surprises and wonder

Life can take you on adventures and fill you with love

How do you choose to look at life?

Slice 1/31 True Friend

Max is my dog. He's cute and funny and high maintenance. He's also one of my best friends....he knows more than anyone else. Today he had to go to the vet and I knew there was something wrong. I still know there is something wrong but won't find out until tomorrow morning.

I had discussed my apprehension of this vet visit with my dear human friend. She rearranged her schedule, threw in a crockpot meal for her family and stayed on call in case I got bad news today.

I didn't get bad news today but her willingness to leave at the drop of a hat is a true testament of her friendship. She's an amazing person and I'm lucky to have her in my life.

That's a slice of my life today.

It's Picture Book Day!!

I'm so glad that Cathy and Mandy created and continue the tradition of #PB10for10.  It's my favorite holiday in August!  Every year this day stresses me out because finding only 10 picture books to feature here is SOOO difficult.

Without further ado, here is my 2012 Picture Book List.

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds was apart of my list last year and frankly may be apart of my list for years to come.  This book is a staple in my classroom.  It is the book I go to when thinking about everything from feelings to taking risks to trying your best.  I've said it before and I'll say it again this is the one book I'd have if I could only have one.

Last year, I had the privileged of reading Ish to a second grade class at my school.  We had a rich discussion about Ramon and what "ish" really means.  The kids still had a couple of questions that I couldn't answer so I said "Why don't we ask the author?".  I went and sent a couple of Tweets to Peter and he responded, answering all of the questions the kids had.  He also sent links to articles that would explain more.  The kids could not believe that an author answering their questions. Not only is Ish a wonderful book but it has a wonderful author.

Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin is one of those books that you could read 1000 times and it would never lose it's luster.  I started off the first day of Kindergarten last year with this book and continue to read it over and over all year.  Pete's laid back attitude was a great mentor for kids who get worried.

While studying informational texts I scoured the library and Twitter for recommendations that  Kindergartners would understand and enjoy.  After finding Nicola Davies I checked out every book by her.  This book was by far a class favorite.  My library copy was renewed about 4 times and the copy I own is well loved.  This book has tons of fun facts about sharks while presenting them in a colorful cartoon like format.  My kids especially liked inside the covers where the sizes of sharks were compared.  

It's not often that a picture book is written about an event that you were a part of but that's what happened to me with Blackout by John Rocco.  I lived in NYC when the massive blackout of 2003 happened.  I was working in a restaurant at the time and for a bit we thought something much more serious had happened causing the power outage.  When I read Blackout I was taken right back to that hot August afternoon and evening.  People all came out, ice cream vendors were handing out cones, and there was a new sense of community.  At one point, I looked up to the sky and almost gasped.  Stars. There were stars in New York City.  It was a magic moment that I know very few will ever experience.  

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet is a wonderful nonfiction book explaining the history of the balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Kids are naturally curious about how things work and learning about the balloons they so often watch on TV was a highlight of our year.

Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein is a story about Papa Chicken trying to read a bedtime story but Little Chicken won't let him finish without interrupting.  We often talked about how to not be an "interrupting chicken" in kindergarten last year.  The kids thought this book was hilarious.

Press Here by Herve Tullet is one of those books that makes me want to run up to people and say "try it, try it, it's so cool".  Press Here is an interactive book that gives you sets of instructions "causing" a reaction on the following page.  I have seen people from 3 to adult read through this book following all of the directions loving every minute of it.

If you want to hear a classroom full of kids laugh from deep inside their bellies then read Chicken Butt by Erica S. Perl.  This book is based on the joke "Guess what." "What?" "Chicken Butt!!"  This book is funny and will help anyone have a good day.

I love ABC books!  I love finding new and different ways to organize or present the letters of our alphabet.  This book is one of the most original ways I've seen.  Leslie McGuirk searched for years to find rocks that looked like every letter of the alphabet.  There were long breaks between some of her finds but eventually she was able to find them all.  Not only is this book unique and beautiful but the author's note is a great lesson in never giving up.

Me...Jane by Patrick McDonnell was getting a lot of buzz on Twitter which usually means I should run, not walk, to get a copy.  This book was no exception.  I first saw the book in our school library.  I picked up the story chronicalling Jane Goodall's life and read it.  Then I got to the last page and gasped....it was the most perfect last page I'd ever seen.  I won't spoil it for you but it. is. awesome.  

So there you have it.  Ten picture books that I and my students love in my classroom.  Thank you to Cathy and Mandy for again hosting this amazing day of books and expenses. :)

Opening Minds Part 1

Last summer I participated in #cyberPD with Cathy Mere, Laura Komos and Jill Fisch.  It was an amazing learning experience for me.  I had never read a professional book with that many people not to mention able to read their reflections on book.  This year when I saw tweets about #cyberPD again, I knew it was something I had to be a part of.

 Opening Minds by Peter Johnston was on my TBR pile for the summer so I was thrilled when it was chosen as our group read.

As teachers one of our jobs is to create the kind of classroom where mistakes are okay, opinions are valued and all kinds of ideas are respected.  Peter starts off by showing us examples of such classrooms and specific language the teacher uses to foster this learning.  There is a quote on page 4 that I think sums up Peter's thinking perfectly "Teaching is planned opportunism.  We have an idea of what we want to teach children, and we plan ways to make that learning possible.  When we put our plans into action, children offer us opportunities to say something, or not and the choices we make affect what happens next.  Teaching requires constant improvisation.  It is jazz."  Our words and each minute choice we make can affect the learning environment in our classroom.  That is an awesome responsibility we have.

Peter goes on to lay out two different theories of thinking.  The fixed theory and dynamic theory.  Fixed is the belief that you are what you are and there is nothing you can do to change it.  Dynamic theory is the belief that you can change and hard work will allow you to do that.  I've heard the basic theory of these two mindsets before but had never read about them in such great detail.  I got to thinking about some former students and which theory they fell into.  I couldn't help but think maybe if I had changed my words just a little bit I could have moved a few more kiddos from the fixed to the dynamic theories.  I am excited to read on and develop new language to use in my classroom to help move learners from fixed to dynamic theories, while pushing those dynamic thinkers even farther.

Thank you Cathy for hosting this week's #cyberPD blogs.
Don't forget to stop by Jill and Laura's blogs in the coming weeks to keep the discussion going.
July 18 at My Primary Passion with Jill Fisch
July 25 at Our Camp Read-A-Lot with Laura Komos
July 26 on Twitter (time TBD)

Summer Professional Reading

It's that time of year again...when the school year is winding down and my brain is reeling with ideas for thinking and learning over the summer.  I've got a book stack that keeps growing.  Next year I'll be teaching first grade so I need to tweak my thinking as I'm learning new things.  Some of these books I've read and some are new. 

Cathy Mere, Jill Fisch and Laura Komos hosted #cyberPD last summer where we read Conferring: The Keystone of Reader's Workshop with several other people.  The conversations and learning were amazing so of course I'm on board to do it again this summer. 

Here is my TBR professional book list (rereads and new reads)

 

So there it is... the impossible list of books for me to read this summer.  What does your stack look like?  Should I add take away anything?